Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Seventeeen

"I want to take Zana out for lunch tomorrow if possible," Aviva's voice says in the kitchen as I quietly close the door behind me.

"Lunch?" T questions.

"I just want to talk to her, to be honest with you, I've never seen Greyson get so flustered and I think Zana was feeding off of that. M5 wants to help her as a hero," Aviva says.

"Don't you start school tomorrow?" T asks leaning her head out of the kitchen with a knowing look.

"Yes, and I am helping you at the shelter tomorrow," I say walking into the kitchen.

"Oh," Aviva says, and I see Greyson is still here, head down and mouth shut.

"You are more than welcome to join us for dinner, I made a massive lasagna," I say with a smile.

"I wouldn't want to intrude," Aviva says.

"It's not intrusion if I invite you and Greyson you are more than welcome to join us, we just might need more chairs," I say glancing at our lonely two chairs.

"I ordered two more, they were delivered tonight, I can grab them tomorrow after work," T says handing me a bowl of soup.

Aviva hops up from her chair and I gladly take it, not wanting to eat soup standing. I was starving at this point, rounds hadn't been particularly busy, but my body is pulling a lot of energy trying to repair whatever is going on the inside of my abdomen.

"Zana?" Aviva's voice calls out and I look up.

"Why is there an excessive amount of energy building in your stomach? That seems strange," Aviva says, and I can tell she is concerned.

"Zana?" T asks me with her temper flaring, her threat of chaining me to a cot comes to mind.

"It's fine, I took to many hits in one spot and I crystalized a bit on the inside, it's already reduced in size," I say. It had shrunken a little bit since last night.

"Zana!" T yells at me and I groan.

"Stop it, T! I will be fine!"

"You don't ever crystalize on the inside," she states firmly.

"I know, he hit me in that spot a lot, I did it on purpose," I admit.

"Explain?" Greyson asks.

"The more impact I take in one spot, the more I crystalize and the more energy the crystals absorb. I purposely kept directing is punches there to create a bigger explosion and it worked because not only did I knock him out, but I knocked some of the Pheasium out of him," I say firmly, and T rolls her eyes.

"I told you I would chain you to a cot if you get seriously injured," she says seriously, there it is.

"I'll be okay T, it is just going to take some time to heal," I reassure her, and she calms down some.

"So, dinner tomorrow night, what time?"

"Eight," I say.

"Sounds like a plan, let's go Greyson," Aviva says happily.

"Fine," he grumbles before they leave.

"You two need to talk," T says.

"What is there to talk about?"

"He thinks you hate him," T says sadly.

"I mean I don't hate him..."

"He thinks you do," T says.

"He's just a lot to handle," I say, and T snickers.

"He and my father have already set you up a college fund," she says with a twinkle in her eyes, and I groan.

"He did not!"

"They already put five thousand in there from the receipt he gave me, he told me not to tell you and just give you the money when you need it for school," T says with a sigh.

"I don't want his money," I say putting my head on the table.

"My dad isn't a very affectionate person Zana; he showed his love for his kids by always giving them whatever they needed. Whether it was technology, money for school, or supplies, that's how he showed he cared, we never went without what we needed. I think Greyson is mimicking that behavior," T says, and I smack my head against the table.

"Please try to get along with him, he's family, and he's my brother," T says softly.

"I hate it when people buy me things!" I yell into the table and T laughs.

"I understand, but suck it up," T says with a shrug, she pats my shoulder before leaving the kitchen.

The next day the girl with the red hair returns and sits at my table. We still don't speak, just sit in a less uncomfortable silence. Sitting in the cafeteria, I have the music that T helped me download, playing in the headphones that came with this blasted cellphone. Looking down at the clunky nearly indestructible case I am thankful he bought such a tank of a case.

"Zana?" A gravelly voice asks me, and I look over.

"Yeah?" I ask the girl with the red hair.

"I think they just called you to the office, it's a little hard to hear though," she says.

"Oh thanks, I didn't even hear it," I admit grabbing my tray and backpack.

Walking into the main office I have no clue why they would want me here. I know T filed all of the paperwork at the beginning of the year for me and I haven't done anything to get in trouble. Checking in with the secretary she tells me to have a seat and the principle will be out shortly. Sitting down I try to not be nervous and the principle comes out pretty quickly and invites me into his office.

"How are you, Zana?"

"Confused, is something wrong?" I ask him.

"We just received paperwork from the state approving Miss Hayes as your legal guardian, but we were under the impression that she already was," he says.

"She was my caretaker, but not legally before," I say hesitantly.

"Then she had no authority to be filling out the paperwork for you to be in school," he says carefully.

"She was in the process of trying to get everything approved, but you know how long the state can take for those sorts of things. She didn't want my education to suffer," I say seriously.

"We can get in major trouble with the state if they find out about this. You were marked as a runaway and we never knew it, Zana," he says, and I sigh.

"Am I in trouble?" I ask him point-blank.

"No, there is nothing to do about it now," he says honestly.

"I'm sorry I had the school under false impressions, but I needed to continue my education and I wasn't going back to that home, ever," I say seriously, and he just looks at me.

"Oh, there is one more thing I wanted to talk to you about," he asks handing me a folder.

"What's this?"

"You were chosen by the teachers for one of the five scholarships we give out through the school. It's not a lot, only twenty-five hundred a year, but they chose you as one of the most stand out students. There is a ceremony in a few weeks," he says, and I look at him stunned.

"Wait, what?"

"Oh, that paperwork is just for when you know exactly which school you are going to, we send the money there directly due to some problems in the past," he says, and I just gape at him.

"Is something wrong?" He asks me concerned.

"No!"

"Okay then," he says and his phone rings.

Leaving his office, I walk to my next class in a complete daze and bump into somebody. They shove me into a locker, and I focus in on who it is. I remember this guy; he was one of the people who harassed me a lot last year.

"Watch where you are going, you homeless piece of trash," he growls at me and I shove him off of me with ease.

"Don't ever talk to me like that again," I say stepping closer to him and he takes a step back.

"Why not you orphan?" He spits out and I sneer at him.

"What the hell is wrong with you? Are you so insecure in yourself that you feel the need to pick on others?" I spit at him and he steps closer and takes a swing at me.

I watch the punch carefully and I duck under it with ease before landing a returning punch square in his jaw. The boy hits the ground and rolls slightly and is out cold. Looking at my hand, I don't see any crystals or damage. Two teachers come and intervene, and I roll my eyes, there goes that scholarship. The boy wakes up after a few moments and we are walked back to the principal's office and he just looks at me shocked.

"What exactly happened?" Principal Richardson asks.

"This crazy bitch attacked me!" Todd screams.

"Okay and Zana what happened?"

"I was still in a little bit of a daze from the news you just gave me, and I was trying to think of the best way to tell Thalia, my guardian, the news because she'll be excited. Well I accidentally bumped into this one and he shoved me in the lockers, and I shoved him off, we both said a few things that we probably shouldn't have, and I know I should have just kept my mouth shut and kept walking, but his words were just so cruel. Then he threw a punch at me, which I dodged and returned, it was strictly self-defense Principal Richardson, I wanted the fight to end right then and there," I say honestly, and he nods and takes notes.

He writes down on his detention pad and hands Todd his slip and hands me one. As Todd turns to storm out of the office, Principal Richardson winks at me as I turn and leave. Glancing at the slip quickly I see it is blank and I snicker to myself.

Walking out of school later that day I am practically bouncing up and down when I see a familiar face on her phone. She doesn't notice me as she is turned towards the road slightly.

"Are you sure this is the right school? I don't think I'm in the right place," Aviva says.

"Aviva?" I ask her confused and she turns surprised.

"Oh, I found her," Aviva says, and I hear T's laugh.

"What are you doing here?" I ask her and she hangs up.

"I'm coming to the shelter with you, I want to help," Aviva says smiling at me, and I shrug.

"Think you can keep up?" I ask her teasingly and she laughs.

"T!" I call out excitedly and I run over to her excitedly.

"What? Is everything alright?" T asks me worried.

"Here," I say handing her the paperwork.

She skims through it and her eyes widen when she sees the part about the scholarship money. Looking up at me confused she pulls me into a massive hug, and I can't help but hug her back.

"If you don't go to the culinary school, I will personally kick your ass," she mumbles in my ear and I laugh.

"Do you think it's finally within our budget?" I ask her honestly.

"If my dad and Greyson had their way, they would have paid for your school before you even got the performance scholarship," T admits, and I groan.

"Thank the heavens that won't be happening," I say, and T laughs.

"I swear if I would let him, Greyson would get rid of what's left of my loans in a heartbeat," T says and Aviva chuckles behind us.

"Boy do I have a story for you two," Aviva says smiling.

Aviva helps me prep and serve dinner. She works hard and can cook pretty well. I show her a few of the skills I taught myself and she tries to mimic my dicing skills and nearly cuts herself. We laugh and chat about Greyson and M5 quietly the entire time we are in the kitchen.

"So, I have an invention I want you to try out tonight if you would be okay with it. I tried to give it to Xander, but he broke my first pair," Aviva says rolling her eyes.

"You want me to try one of your inventions?" I ask her in awe, and she nods.

"You need it far more than any of us do and I know you would take good notes on what you like and what needs improvement," Aviva says as we clean up.

"Are you sure?" I ask her tentatively.

"Why do you think I am still here?" Aviva asks and I smile.

"For my lasagna," I say laughing.

"If it's half as good as Greyson says then yeah that too," Aviva says smiling as we leave the kitchen and meet up with T.

"Let's go, ladies, Greyson put the Lasagna in already since I lent him my extra key," T says, and I roll my eyes at her smiling.

"I think you've missed your brother," I tease, and she knocks into me.

"Don't act like you don't enjoy the change of pace," she says with a knowing look.

"Greyson is really a nice guy once you get to know him, we didn't exactly start on the best of her terms, but I do trust him with my life at this point," Aviva admits, and you can see how genuine she is being.

"It's not that I don't like him or don't trust him, I just normally avoid people like him. I don't like presents or expensive things, I don't like people trying to do things for me when I know I can do it myself. But I also know that he is trying to give me the tools that are normal for someone my age. He's just a lot to handle right now," I say trying to put it into words.

"I understand more than you would think," Aviva says as we trek up the stairs.

"I smell a story," T says smiling.

"So, I took out a loan when I was finishing my master's degree and my bachelors, I just needed some money for the left-over tuition and rent. Less than a few days after I got the loan, Lena and Xander paid it off after Lena found the paperwork on my coffee table. I flipped shit on them," Aviva says laughing.

"So, it's just a thing they all do," I say laughing. It did make me feel slightly better knowing it wasn't just me.

"We're all family, and family helps each other out," Aviva says giving me a shoulder squeeze.

"Were back Grey," T says walking into the kitchen and the shadows in the room start to move and Cathleen appears.

"Hi Cathleen," I say, and Aviva walks over to her and gives her a big kiss.

"Here is all of the stuff, I put the jacket in there too," Cathleen says quietly, and Aviva bites her lip.

"Okay, thanks babe," Aviva says, and the soft smile Cathleen has warms my heart.

"Hey Greyson," I say helping him serve dinner.

"How was school?" Greyson asks me tentatively.

"It was good, I'll be receiving an additional scholarship from my school for college," I say smiling,

"I'm not surprised," Greyson says smiling.

"You're going back to New York tomorrow, right?" I ask him and his smile falters.

"Yes,"

"I have an awards ceremony in a few weeks, and I was wondering if you would be able to make it," I say, and he looks at me shocked.

"Just give me a time and place," he says recovering.

"I'll get you the paper later," I say.

Turning quickly, I nearly bump into T who has a big smile on her face. Rolling my eyes at her antics, I can play nice with others, sometimes. Taking my seat on the counter as Cathleen joins us for dinner, she'll be heading back to New York very shortly. T says she'll take care of the dishes so I can go have fun and I laugh.

"Wait," Aviva says as I go to change.

"What?"

"Follow me," she says giddily.

She hands me the massive box that Cathleen brought over earlier, and I take it into T's bedroom to change. Pulling the box with the shoes out first I notice that there are some other things in the box. Pulling out a pair of pants first, I tug them on, and they give, but the fabric doesn't thin. Sliding them on, they are cool to the touch. Running my hands over the black fabric, I notice all of the seams are sewn with a strong silver thread.

Pulling the rest of the stuff out of the box, I see a long sleeve shirt and a thick strapped tank top. There is also a new black mask, with the same silver seams. There is a smaller box, which I know has the boots in it. Pulling out the thing in the very bottom of the box, it is an all-black jacket with a silver 'M' on the sleeve on a patch of sorts. The 'M' is reminiscent of the M5 logo but even better. The left side has a piece removed from the letter and it's simple but powerful.

Pulling the long-sleeved shirt on, it is tighter than I would like but I pull the jacket on over top of it and feel a little better. The mask slides onto my face easily and I can breathe so much easier and there is a button. A projection pops up in front of my eyes and I can see through the wall. Turning that off I pull the black boots on and notice that they are a little clunky. What an interesting choice of footwear, there has to be something special about them.

All eyes are on me as I walk out, and I can't help but squirm slightly. Glancing at T, her hand is in front of her face and tears are in her eyes. Glancing back to Greyson and Aviva the smiles they have on their faces look almost painful. I can't possibly look that different, I usually wear all black.

"What?" I ask confused and Aviva laughs. She pulls her phone out quickly and takes a photo of me and shows me.

"Woah," I say. I look like a real superhero.

"Let's sync everything up and then we can head out," Aviva says.

She shows me how to sync everything and leaves me her written instructions and we head out. Keeping my mask up, we walk towards the more abandoned part of town, she didn't want people around to see me trying to learn how to use this mysterious invention and I wasn't going to argue.

"Aviva?"

"Yeah?"

"Why is there just an 'M' on the jacket?" I ask her curiously and she smiles.

"Well we want the world to know that you are backed by our team, but there is something we can do if you are interested," Aviva says.

"Metallica is leaving the team for personal reasons and that would put us back down to four after we just underwent the big transition a few years ago to M5. Well, we are thinking about taking the number out entirely and just calling ourselves the Mavericks. We would also bring you onto the team, but as our ally in another city. We want to have members in every city one day and this would just be the first step," Aviva says as we get down to the dirt yards.

"The Mavericks?" I ask and she nods.

"We want the world to know that Aegis is one of us," Aviva says,

"Why?"

"Because what you are doing is important and I'm tired of watching the media shred you when we know the good you are trying to do," Aviva says as she turns on her own bracelet.

"What the media says doesn't bother me, Aviva, their opinions are irrelevant to me. What matters is the lives I am saving," I say seriously.

"It's harder to save people when they don't have faith in you Zana, the media is a big influence on the people. Having them on your side might not be important to you personally, but it is important in having the people understand you. It's a game, but we play the game because of the lives we are changing at the end of the day."

"So, what exactly is so special about these boots?" I ask her and she pulls her mask up.

"Watch this," Aviva says.

She touches the watch and the shoes make a faint noise before she is launched off of the ground. I watch as she flips around in the air a few times before coming and hovering above me. Looking at the bottom of the shoes I see a hole in the heel and the toe area. There is a gust of air coming from them, but no heat or light.

"That is so cool!" I scream excitedly.

"I devolved the hovering abilities and my friend Camila helped me code everything," Aviva says.

"These are those," I ask pointing between our boots.

"Yup, now do you want to learn how to use them?"

"Of course!"

Aviva guides me through using the boots and I only manage to eat dirt once, every other time she can stop me before I crash. After a few hours, I start to get used to them and we move back towards the city and I practice landing and taking off and we sore over the city for a while before we land on the roof of my building.

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